04 | January | 2015 | M'chelsMusings

Sunday, the 4th of January, 2015 is the 4th day in 2015 and in the 1st calendar week.

General Events:

World Braille Day
January 4, 2015 in the World

World Braille Day celebrates the birth of Louis Braille, inventor of the reading and writing system used by millions of blind and partially sighted people all over the globe. Though not a public holiday in any country, World Braille Day provides an opportunity for teachers, charities and non-government organizations to raise awareness about issues facing the blind and the importance of continuing to produce works in Braille, providing the blind with access to the same reading and learning opportunities as the sighted.

As incredible as braille is, and as much as it offers blind and partially sighted people, braille books must stay within the country where they are produced because ofrestrictive international copyright laws. Because braille books cannot be shared across borders, the blind cannot read any books that are not produced within their own country. Unfortunately, at present only 5% of all published materials get produced in accessible formats, which means that under 10% of all blind children in developing countries go to school due to the shortage or lack of teaching materials.

The Marrakesh Treaty is the name of an international agreement finalized in June 2013 that would allow copyright exceptions for published works to be made widely available in accessible formats. The implementation of the Marrakesh Treaty will allow blindness organizations to share their resources with other organizations in developing countries that may not have the resources to produce books for their blind citizens. Then, schools for the blind in wealthier countries would be able to send books to schools in poorer countries so blind children who cannot afford to buy braille books will still have access to the textbooks needed for them to finish school. For example, Spain’s ONCE (Organización Nacional de Ciegos Españoles, or The Spanish Foundation for the Blind) could make their braille library available to blindness organizations in all of the Spanish-speaking countries in South America, thus saving the costs of reproducing the exact same books for each separate country. However, these resources can be shared only if this treaty becomes law in all of the countries around the world.
This coming World Braille Day, celebrate Louis Braille’s achievements and help millions of blind and partially sighted people everywhere by writing a letter to your government representatives encouraging them to make this treaty a reality.

Where is World Braille Day?
Worldwide

Independence Day of Burma
January 4, 2015 in Burma

Independence Day of Burma is celebrated on January 04, 2015. The Independence Day of Burma is a national holiday observed in Burma every year. The date celebrates Burma’s Declaration of Independence from Britain on January 4, 1948. Independence Day of Burma is marked by sport activities and fairs in most Burmese cities.

Where is Independence Day of Burma?
Nationwide Burma

Trivia Day 2015
January 4, 2015 in the World

All those facts you picked up through daytime game shows can finally be put to good use when you astound your friends with your general knowledge! Trivia day is the perfect day to share all of those silly little facts that almost nobody knows, making this day a fun and interesting one to spend with friends or family.

The World famous trivia game, Trivial Pursuit, is thought to have sparked people’s fascination with trivia and competing to see who knows more odd facts about geography, history, art, science, sports and entertainment. Trivial Pursuit was first created in in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1979 by two men named Chris Haney and Scott Abbott, who had become frustrated to find pieces of their Scrabble game had gone missing, thus inspiring them to create their own game. Trivial Pursuit became an almost instant hit and worldwide phenomenon, and the trivia craze began.

If you don’t own any home trivia games, Trivia Day can be a great time to crack open the encyclopedia and spend some family time around the dinner table quizzing each other and discussing little known interesting facts. You could also share this day with friends, though perhaps you should steer clear of the competitive types! Arguments over whether the answers to trivia questions are 100% correct can get extremely fierce, especially near the end of the game when the most is at stake!

So what are you waiting for? Order a pizza or two and let the knowledge competition begin!

To get you started: In the Victorian era, special teacups were produced to protect the mustache from being inadvertently dipped in tea.

Where is the event?
Worldwide

Natural Events:

January Full Moon
January 4, 2015 in Eastcoast (North America)

On January 04, 2015 the moon reaches its maximum brightness. Therefore it is called full moon. Full moon is a lunar phase that occurs when the Moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun. More precisely, a full moon occurs when the geocentric apparent longitudes of the Sun and Moon differ by 180 degrees; the Moon is then in opposition with the Sun. As seen from Earth, the hemisphere of the Moon that is facing the earth is almost fully illuminated by the Sun and appears round. Only during a full moon is the opposite hemisphere of the Moon, which is not visible from Earth, completely unilluminated.

The time interval between similar lunar phases is on average about 29.53 days. Therefore, in those lunar calendars in which each month begins on the new moon, the full moon falls on either the 14th or 15th of the lunar month. Because lunar months have a whole number of days, lunar months may be either 29 or 30 days long.

Full Moons are traditionally associated with temporal insomnia, insanity and various “magical phenomena” such as lycanthropy. Psychologists, however, have found that there is no strong evidence for effects on human behavior around the time of a full moon. They find that studies are generally not consistent, with some showing a positive effect and others showing a negative effect. In one instance, the British Medical Journal published two studies on dog bite admission to hospitals in England and Australia. The study of the Bradford Royal Infirmary found that dog bites were twice as common during a full moon, whereas the study conducted by the public hospitals in Australia found that they were less likely. Full moons trigger deer movement in North America. Hunters and fisherman rely heavily on moonphases.

Where is January Full Moon?
EST Eastern Standard Time / UTC-05
Eastcoast (North America)

Historical Events on 4th January:

871 – Battle at Reading: Ethelred of Wessex beats Danish invasion army

1490 – Anna of Brittany announces that all those who would ally with the king of France will be considered guilty of the crime of lese-majesty.

1698 – Most of the Palace of Whitehall in London, the main residence of the English monarchs, is destroyed by fire.

1847 – Samuel Colt sells his first revolver pistol to the United States government

1885 – Dr W W Grant of Iowa, performs 1st appendectomy (on Mary Gartside, 22)

1887 – Thomas Stevens is 1st man to bicycle around the world (SF-SF)

1903 – Topsy, an elephant, electrocuted by Thomas Edison during the War of Currents campaign.

1912 – The Scout Association is incorporated throughout the British Commonwealth by Royal Charter.

1920 – 1st Black baseball league, National Negro Baseball League, organizes

1947 – Emilio G. Segrè and Carlo Perrier announce technetium, a previously unknown element and the first artificially synthesized chemical element